Pressed-steel stringer



A. S. HUGHES PREssED STEEL STRINGE'R Filed April 24. 1922 Junev 9, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNESSES AffonNzY June 9, 1925.

A. s. HUGHES PRESSED STEEL STRINGER Filed April 24. 1922 ATTORNEY June 9, 1925.,

Persia/'r or'FicE.

ARTHUR SHERIDAN HUGHES, MANSFIELD, OHIO.

Application led. Aprilvz, 1922. Serial No. 556,191.

To all whom t may. concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR S. HUGI-ins, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mansfield, in the county of Richland: and State of Ohio, have invented new and'use'- ful Improvements in Pressed-Steel Stringers, of" which the following is a specifica'- tion. i

This invention relates to stringere used in stair building, and has for its object` the provision of a stringer formed of a plurality of sections or sheets 'secured' together and interlocked,l whereby to provide what might be termed a laminated structure which will possess maximum strength with minimum weight.

Ordinarily, stringers` used in stair building are formed of a single piece off angular formation provided with flanges which define seats for sustaining thestair risers and treads. y'I he great disadvantage of such a. construction is the `excessive thickness and consequent great weight because ofthe necessity of using compara-tively thick material in order to possess the requisite strength. To provide a lighter structure with even greater strength, I have designed the` present invention, which contemplates the provision of' the separate angularly formed pieces or sheets having linterlocking flanges which defineV seats for the stair risers and treads and to which are vsecured the balusters.

Another object is the provision in a stair struct-ure of a baluster mounting which periits adjustment for, maintaining the balusters in vertical position regardless of the slant or incline which may be given to the strnigers.

The construction, mounting` and operation of the structure will be readily coin.- prehended vfrom a study of the description taken in conjunction with the. accompanying drawings, though it is to be distinctly understood that the detailed disclosure is merely an exemplification of a preferred embodiment of thev invention, and that I reserve the right to adopt other variations and make such modifications as will' widen the field of its usefulness, provided always that such changes involve no departure from the salient features or spirit of the invention, or the scope of the appendedr claims.

In the drawings; I

Figure- 1 is a side elevation of a stair construction embodying my invention, parts being broken away and in section;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View on the line 2*-2 of Figure. 1;

Figure 3 is a fragrnentary` plan view with the balusters in section;

Figure 4L is a View similar to` Figure@ but showing a modified form of the invention.V

Referringmore particularly tothe drawings, and especiallyl to Figures 1 to 8, inclusive, I .have shown the Stringer-s as being for/med' ofy two metallic member-sy or sheets 10' and 1 1, which are ofv angular formation` and which when secured' together define alaminated, or bon-likeY structure.

'Themember or section 10 is formed' at' and -along its upper edge with a right angular inwardly extending-flange 12, which fits against the inner or lowerside ofA a right angular outwardly extending iiange 13 formed on the section 114, an interlocking 'engagement being effected' by the formation of' a second flangel on the' section 11 which extends downwardly parallel' with the body portion thereof. By this construction the upper portion of the section 11 constitutes, in effect, a channel which entirely receives the upper iianged edge of the section- 10.

yThe lower edge of the` section 10 is formed Vwithl a right angular inwardly extendingv flange 15, upon which rests and is engaged therewith a similarly extending flange` 1C formed on the lower edge'y of the` section 11. The superposed flanges 15 land16'.w'h'icl'rextend, inwardly from theineinber 11 define a seat for supporting the threads A. and risers B vof the stairsv stiaictu:e,v bolts 17 being provided which .pass through the ilanges 15 and 16 and through the junctures of the treads with the risers. The treads and risers illustratedare ofV peculiar formation having aV specific interlocking feature but the details are not; described, as' this structure is made the subjectmat ter of a companion application.

A s Figure 2 shows, the flange 12Y bears against the section or member 11 and, hence spaces the two sections or members from each other. It is. preferable to, provide other means for this purpose and I make use of plurality of'angularly shaped spaccrate to secure the sections and 11 of the stringers together in firmly clamped relation against the opposite sides of the spacers I8.

rl`he hand rail 20 is pivotally connected, at 21, with the upper ends of the balusters 22, which have their lower ends pivotally mounted upon bolts 23, which pass through the flanges 14 and engage portions of the sections 10, these bolts thus providing additional securing means for the sections 10 and 11. `Disposed outwardly7 of the balusters and covering the lower ends are strips 24, through which the bolts 23 pass, and which provide a certain degree of additional reinforcement as well as improve the appearance of the structure. lVhere desired for ornamental purposes, a moulding strip of special design may be susbtituted for the strip 24. The hand rail 20 may, of course, be formed in any one of a variety of ways, though I have illustrated it as being of the specific construction disclosed in my application, Serial Number 472,787. A feature of the baluster construction shown is that, regardless of the slant or inclination of the stairs, the balusters may be adjusted so as to remain always in. a vertical position.

In Figure 4 I have shown a modification, though the fundamental principle of using a plurality of sections or members for the stringer construction remains the same. In this particular form the outer section or sheet 2G of the Stringer is formed at its upper edge with an outwardly extending flange 27, which engages against the underside' of a similarly extending flange 28 formed on the inner section 29. rlhe lower edges of the sect-ions 26 and 29 are flanged, as 4'shown at 30 and 31, respectively, in exactly the sanievinanner as in the first described for1n rThe same spacing elements 1.8 and stay bolts 19 are used, as previously described, and the general njiounting is identically the same. There is another variation, however, between this and the first form, as in this instance the superposed flanges 27 and -28 must be provided with openings through which pass the balusters 22, the latter being, however, held in position by means of the bolt 23 as in the first form, the finishing strip 24 being likewise employed. In both forms of the invention,

the Stringer is made up of two members or sections having top land bottom flanges which are superposed and form closures for the top and bottom of the stringer, the sides of the stringer being held in spaced relation by independent means.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings, it will be apparent that I have provided a novel Stringer construction, which will have the advantage of possessing great strength and rigidity while minimizing the weight, as it is possible to construct it of thinner material than could possibly be employed in the construction of the ordinary stringer, the provision of the plurality of sections or members arranged in spaced relation having` the spacing elements secured between them insuring these advantages. It is also to be observed that the baluster mounting associated with the Stringer is of such a nature as to permit ready adjustment, depending upon the inclination at which the stringers are disposed.

What is claimed is:

1. A Stringer formed of a pair of members, eac-h member having angular flanges at its upper and lower edges, the members being fitted together with the flanges placed one upon the other so that a hollow box-like structure is formed which is closed at the top and bottom by said flanges.

2. A stringer formed of a pair of members, each member having right angular flanges at its upper and lower edges, the members being fitted together with the flanges placed one upon the other so that a hollow box-like structure is formed which is closed at the top and bottom by said flanges, the lower flanges being extended beyond one side of the stringer to form a seat for the connection and support of stairs thereto.

A Stringer formed of a pair of members, each member having angular flanges'at its upper and lower edges, the members being fitted together with the flanges pla-ced one upon the other so that a. hollow box-like structure is formed which is closed at the top and bottom by said flanges, means arranged interiorly of said structure and bearing against said members,

4. A stringer formed of a pair of members, each member having angular flanges at its upper and lower edges, the members being fitted together with the flanges placed one upon the other so that a hollow box-like structure is formed which is closed at the topi and bottom by said flanges, the flanges at the top extending at right angles to said members in opposite directions, and a second flange extending downwardly from the right angular flanges of one of said members, so as to form an interlocking engagement between said members at the top.

5. A Stringer formed of a pair of members, each member having along its bottom edge right angular flanges, one of said and spacing Il D flanges being longer` than the other so as to close the space between the said members at the bottom, and both flanges extending beyond the side of the member having the shorter flange and being superposed forming a, seat along one side of the stringer, which seat is made up of' two thicknesses of metal, said seat constituting a support for stairs.

6, A stringer formed of a pair of spaced members, one member having a right angular inwardly extending flange at its upper edge, and the other member having at its upper edge a right angular outwardly extending flange, which embraces the inwardly extending flange of the first-men tioned member, and a second flange extending downwardly from the outwardly eX- tending flange of the second-mentioned member and forming an interlocking connection between the two members and also closing the space between said members at the top.

T. A Stringer formed of a pair of flanged members secured together. with the flanges in interfitting engagement to form ra hollow structure, and spacing means remote from and independent of said flanges disposed between the flanged members and connected therewith to prevent inward collapsing.

8. A Stringer formed of a pair of members formed at their longitudinal edges with flanges disposed in contacting relation with the body portions of themembers arranged in spaced relation to define a hollow structure, which is closed at the top and bottom by said flanges the flange at the upper edge of one member defining a channel receiving the adjacent flange of the other member, and the flanges at the lower edges of both members projecting beyond the inner side of' said structure at an angle thereto to form a seat.

9. The combination of a pair of stringers, each Stringer consisting of a pair of flanged members secured together with the flanges in engagement to form a hollow structure, angularly shaped metallic spacing elements disposed between said members remote from the flanges, and sta-y bolts passing through said members and said spacing' elements.

10. The combination of a pair of' stringers, each stringer consisting of' a pair of flanged members secured together with the flanges in engagement toform a hollow structure, spacing elements disposed between said members remote from the flanges7 and stay bolts passing through said members and said spacing elements.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing my own, I have hereto affixed my signature.

ARTHUR SHERIDAN HUGHES. 

